Monday, November 17, 2008Exhibition games with Cubs to open new Yankee Stadium
ESPN.com news services

NEW YORK -- The Chicago Cubs will play the first exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium, meeting New York on Friday night April 3 and again the following afternoon.

The $1.3 billion ballpark, scheduled for substantial completion by Feb. 17, will host its first regular-season game when the Yankees play Cleveland on April 16.

"As we welcome our fans into the ballpark for the first time, it is fitting to showcase two of baseball's greatest and most historic franchises," Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said.

The Cubs are led by manager Lou Piniella, who won World Series titles with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

"Lou Piniella and eight of our players had the honor to partake in All-Star Game festivities that helped say farewell to Yankee Stadium last summer, and we look forward to participating in the opening of the Yankees' new ballpark next spring," Crane Kenney, chairman of the Cubs, said.

These will be the Yankees' first preseason exhibitions at home since a two-game, two-stadium series against the Mets in 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.